The title is a pun of the name of former Manchester United footballer Roy Keane — a fact Morrissey acknowledged during live performances of the song by changing the lyrics to "never seen a keener midfielder".
His received international attention in May 2002 for his interview of Irish football player Roy Keane on the island of Saipan while the Irish football team were preparing to take part in the 2002 football World Cup.
Roy Rogers | Roy Orbison | Roy Lichtenstein | Roy Thomas | Roy Haynes | Roy Clark | Arundhati Roy | Roy Jenkins | Roy Carr | Roy Dupuis | Rob Roy | Roy E. Disney | Roy Castle | Roy Barnes | Roy Jones, Jr. | Roy Harper | Roy Blunt | Siegfried & Roy | Roy Scheider | Roy Lassiter | Roy Hargrove | Roy Chapman Andrews | Roy Williams | Roy Thomas Baker | Roy of the Rovers | Roy Hattersley | Roy Emerson | Roy Acuff | Reena Roy | Roy Romer |
Manchester United started with the eleven that they had relied on for most of the season, with Tim Howard playing in goal; a back four comprising Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Mikaël Silvestre and John O'Shea; Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs giving the width as wide men in a 4–4–1–1 formation, with Roy Keane and Darren Fletcher sitting in central midfield; and Ruud van Nistelrooy up front, supported by Paul Scholes.
Upon awarding the kick, six Manchester United players (Roy Keane, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Jaap Stam, Ryan Giggs and Denis Irwin) chased D'Urso to object to the decision; the resulting image was freely circulated by the media.